Five months ago I never imagined how much fun I’d have as a marketing intern for a Medicare Insurance agency. As a public relations major, I was eager to learn from a marketing aspect and to gain knowledge and experience I hadn’t received in the classroom, but I wasn’t totally sure what to expect.
Looking back today, it’s easy to see the invaluable amount I have learned about marketing, insurance, and the “senior world” working at SFG for Meghan Glintenkamp, our marketing and business development manager, with countless laughs, exciting ideas, and fun along the way.
What I’ve learned
On my first day, I had only a very vague understanding of what Medicare was or how it worked, and I definitely could not have given you a definition of Medicaid or listed even one Medicare provider if you asked. I think my first blog consisted of at least two weeks of edits, rewrites, and reviews. Due to my seemingly unending list of questions, I ran back and forth to Meghan’s office to ask about Medicare, how our agents work, and what we offer as a company (all of which she always patiently answered).
Five months later, I am a better (and thankfully faster) writer with much more knowledge about Medicare, Medicaid, life insurance, Social Security, retirement — the list could go on and on.
This internship gave me the opportunity to learn how marketers reach and engage with a senior audience, something I know will be so useful in my career going forward and allow me to stand out among my peers. Although our low Twitter stats could be frustrating at times (not a highly used medium in this industry), we cheered every time our “link clicks” on Facebook grew, learning what worked and what didn’t along the way.
In five years
When I think about where I’ll be in five years, I dream of my own office and a fast-paced job at a well-respected public relations agency in a big city. Yet what I hope for most after graduation is to find a job that makes me as excited to wake up every morning as when I woke up and drove to SFG and where I’m surrounded by the kind of people I’ve been lucky enough to learn from and work alongside of here.
Why SFG?
If someone asked me, “Why did you intern at Senior Financial Group?” I would tell them simply because of the people. In my interview with Meghan, she told me about the “family feel” of the company and what it meant to her as an employee of almost seven years. And y’all… seven years is low if you ask others around the office how long they have been working here. There’s a reason for that.
After only five months, this building feels like home to me, and I only come in twice a week! Every person cares how you’re doing and goes out of their way to make you feel welcome. It’s no facade when they say that SFG is like a family because I was able to experience that in just the short time I was here.
While many of my fellow UTK students rejoice to head back to campus and complete long summer days of interning, I have dreaded my last day at Senior Financial Group. I’m telling myself (and Meghan) it’s not “goodbye”, just “see you later.”
Thanks for reading,
Abigail Cox
